US bans imports from 3 Chinese biotech companies over forced labor allegations
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Wednesday that it is blocking shipments by the Chinese biotech company BGI Group and its affiliates, alleging ties to forced labor in China's far-west ethnic region of Xinjiang.
Starting Thursday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will bar goods by BGI Group, a major biotech company known for its genetic sequencing technologies, as well as BGI Genomics and MGI Tech. The Department of Homeland Security said the companies are either sourcing materials from Xinjiang or working with the regional government to “recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, or receive forced labor” of members of persecuted ethnic groups in Xinjiang, including Uyghurs.
Adding the companies to a trade blacklist comes as biotechnology is emerging as another front in the economic and tech competition between the U.S. and China. The Treasury Department last week proposed new restrictions on U.S. investments in biotechnology, artificial intelligence and supercomputing from flowing into countries such as China.
The latest trade actions precede an expected meeting next month between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, where BGI Group is based. Xi could then travel to Florida in December for the Group of 20 leaders summit and meet Trump for the fourth time this year as the two try to keep ties stable during a trade truce.
BGI Group rejected the allegations, saying in a statement Wednesday that it "has not engaged in any form of forced labor.” It added that “we firmly oppose all forms of forced labor.”
The company has controlling stakes in BGI Genomics and MGI Tech, DHS said.
BGI Group has for several years been a concern to U.S. lawmakers and policymakers, who are worried that its alleged ties to the Chinese government and access to massive genetic data could hurt U.S. national security and commercial interests. The company has long stressed its private ownership and said it does not serve patients in the U.S. and has no access to Americans' genetic data.
While Congress failed to pass legislation banning BGI from doing business with federally funded medical providers, it passed a similar provision at the end of last year without naming specific companies. It asked for a list of “biotechnology companies of concerns” to be compiled.
The Pentagon has labeled BGI Group, BGI Genomics and MGI Tech as Chinese military companies, a designation that carries reputational damage.
In its announcement Wednesday, DHS pointed to “credible information, including corporate and government reporting” showing that BGI Group, BGI Genomics and MGI Tech have supported genetic testing in Xinjiang.
“The collection and analysis of genetic material facilitate the monitoring, surveillance, and repression of ethnic minorities by the government of the People’s Republic of China, including the abhorrent practice of forced labor,” the department said.
The new restrictions are part of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which then-President Joe Biden signed into law at the end of 2021 following allegations of human rights abuses by Beijing against members of the ethnic Uyghur group and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.
The Chinese government has refuted the claims as lies and defended its practice and policy in Xinjiang as fighting terror and ensuring stability.
In August, the Trump administration drastically expanded the blacklist under that law to include 43 Chinese companies, for a total of 187 entities. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has vowed to protect American workers from getting undercut or cheated by foreign companies using "slave labor."
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